Son Gokū (孫（そん）悟（ご）空（くう）; more commonly known as Son Goku or Son Gokou), born with the name Kakarotto (カカロット; FUNimation "Kakarot", Viz "Kakarrot"), is a Saiyan from the planet Vegeta who was raised on Earth. He transformed into a giant monkey as a child and killed his adoptive grandfather on accident, forcing him to live alone in the wilderness for much of his young life. After meeting Bulma and learning about the mystical Dragon Balls, Gokū's life was forever changed and led to him becoming a legendary martial artist who saved the world many times. In the following years, he became a prodigal warrior who saved the universe from the likes of Freeza, Cell, and Majin Boo in his journey to become the strongest fighter alive.

Gokū is the spitting image of his father, Bardock, possessing an identical black hairstyle unique to himself and his father,[18] however, has a softer face akin to his mother, Gine. Gokū's hair hasn't changed since he was born, a trait common to Saiyans, and has the unique trait of never changing how it looks no matter the angle he stands. On his head rests a scar, invisible due to his hair, from his fall as a child. His attire consists of martial arts gi in varying shades of either purple, orange, or blue. As a child, his first gi was coloured purple. The gi primarily featured the either Kame-Sennin, God, North Kaiō, or Gokū's own symbol emblazoned on the chest and the back. It would be later in his life, after his misadventures on the planet Namekku that Gokū would forego any symbol on his gi. During Dragon Ball Z: Revival of "F", Gokū opted for an alternate version of his orange gi that lacked an undershirt, and had Whis' 'autogpraph' written on his chest.[19] Gokū's final, chronological appearance change consisted of dark green gi (a turquoise and blue-green gi in the anime), worn ten years after the defeat of Majin Boo.

As with the gi itself, Gokū's armbands and footwear were subject to change depending on his current gi. As a child, he wore red armbands, a white obi, and black shoes. He began to wear blue armbands when he switched to the familiar orange gi he donned after training with Kame-Sennin. After training with God, Gokū's new gi came with a thick, weighted blue undershirt, and dark blue boots, with yellow lining, tied together with red laces. His new gi from Revival of "F" ditched the undershirt entirely, donned thick, blue armbands, and light blue boots with gray armored tips. His final change in attire gave him yellow armbands, a white obi, and black shoes with yellow wraps.

Gokū has the distinction of being the only pure-blooded Saiyan to be shown aging from an child to adult within the Dragon Ball series, and because of this, his physical appearance has changed drastically (although some of this could be attributed to Toriyama's evolving and changing art style within the series itself). As a teenager of 14 [Note 8] Gokū was only the height and physical build of an average human child around the ages of 7 or 8. With the exception of a slight addition to height and muscular build around the age of 17,[Note 9] Gokū's appearance remains nearly the same for most of his early life.

The biggest change in Gokū's physical appearance came three years after the defeat of Piccolo Daimaō — with Gokū now at age 20. He underwent a massive growth spurt, shooting up to the average height of an adult human male. He would also permanently lose his tail, something God removed out of concern for the Earth.[20] As Gokū continued to age, he would later undergo slightly more physical changes (again, many of which can be considered changes to Toriyama's own art style rather than Gokū's physical maturity), including more defined physical features, and a noted increase in muscle tone. Very briefly, after training in the Room of Spirit and Time with Vegeta for three years, Gokū grew facial hair, specifically a mustache and beard, though it was soon shaved.[21]

Creation and Conception

Toriyama's postcard of Gokū and Bulma: "I've finally finished the first chapter's worth of sketches. The title is "Dragon Ball", and it looks like it'll be a strange yet fun adventure manga. Look forward to it."

Son Gokū, alongside Bulma, was revealed in 1984 via postcard to Toriyama's official fanclub at the time — the Toriyama Preservation Society — a month before Dragon Ball first premiered in Shōnen Jump.[22]

The name "Gokū" means "awakened to emptiness"; the Go syllable means "Enlightenment," and the Kū syllable "Emptiness," and can be read as "Sky". In the Freeza Arc, while training in the Capsule Corporation spaceship, it is seen that his name is written with a "h", Gokūh, when he has to go to repair the ship. Gokū's full name, Son Gokū, is the Japanese name for Sun Wukong, the main protagonist in the Chinese legend Journey to the West (西遊記, Saiyūki), on whom Gokū is loosely based. The Dragon Ball universe began as a loose adaptation of the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West, with Gokū starting off as more or less a parody of Sun Wukong the Monkey King. Similarities between the two include Gokū's prone for mischief as a child (due to his innocence), possession of Nyoibō (Sun Wukong's staff that can fill the entire universe), and Kintoun (the magical cloud the Great Sage rode on in Journey to the West). As the Dragon Ball manga continued its run, he was able to develop differently, eventually turning out to have similar origins.[23]

Gokū's design was based on Tanton, of Toriyama's prototype manga Dragon Boy and Tongpoo, from his other manga The Adventures of Tongpoo. When Akira Toriyama started his first draft of Dragon Ball he originally planned on making Gokū full monkey to make it faithful to Journey to the West. During Toriyama's second draft he wanted to make Gokū a full human dressed in sailor clothes that rode a flight mecha instead of the Kintoun.[23] Toriyama's third and final draft of Gokū was to have him human looking with a monkey tail. Toriyama claims that Gokū's hair might have been based on Astro Boy, particularly the "horns", and the "flat part" in the middle.[24]

Toriyama's decision to make Gokū age into adulthood was fueled by the fact that, as a child, his head/body ratio made fighting difficult, so if the series was going to remain focused on battles, Gokū would have to grow. His editors were initially against the decision, but Toriyama sent them a sketch, and by the time he heard back from his editors, he'd already begun a rough draft that was too late to change.[25]

Trivia

Gokū's Saiyan birth name, Kakarotto, is a pun on "carrot". Likewise, all pure-blood Saiyans that appear in the series are named using vegetable-related puns. Gokū's family are all named after root vegetables (burdock, negi, radish, and carrot). Comically, in Dragon Ball, Gokū says he hates carrots when fighting against Toninjinka.

Despite the fact that Gokū is referred to only by his first name, "Gokū", in the English dub of the anime, many characters in the Japanese dub refer to him as "Son" or "Son-kun", with those who call him "Gokū" being few and far between. Gokū's own surname is rarely mentioned in any English dub of the series.

Son Gokū is one of only two characters so far to be considered a candidate to succeed the Hakaishin of his Universe; the other being Toppo of the 11th Universe.

Several characters within the series are typically on either last or full name basis with Gokū; Bulma, Tenshinhan, Piccolo, God, Hit and Gokū Black are all examples of people who refer to Gokū as "Son" or "Son Gokū". The FUNimation dub, however, has made a point to avoid using his full name with the exception of a single scene in the Dragon Ball Kai dub.

Quotes

FUNimation

Japanese

(To his grandpa Son Gohan) "I'm so happy to see you grandpa! I've missed you so much!"

(To Raditz) "That's enough! Even if it is true and I'm some kind of alien from another planet, or even if you really are my older brother, it doesn't matter, anyone who'd do the horrible things you say is no brother of mine! My name is Gokū, and this is my home... and you're not welcome here!"

(To Freeza) "You haven't figured it out yet? I'm a proud Saiyan who calls Earth home, and I'm here to defeat you. I am the warrior you've heard of in legend, pure of heart and awakened by fury. That's what I am. I AM THE SUPER SAIYAN, SON GOKŪ!"

(To Dr.Gero and No. 19) "You might think you know everything there is to know about me... but really, you're not even close."

(Encouraging Gohan to defeat Cell) "Remember all the pain he's caused, the people he's hurt... Now make that your power!!!"

(To Beerus during their battle) "I will not let you destroy my world!"

(To Freeza) "You already know don’t you? I am a Saiyan who came from Earth in order to defeat you. The legendary warrior whose calm heart was awakened by violent rage. THE SUPER SAIYAN, SON GOKŪ!"

Notes & References

Notes

↑Dragon Ball Minus, page 9 and Jaco the Galactic Patrolman, page 216 confirmed to have been sent to Earth as age 3 in Dragon Ball Minus; Bulma was 5 at the time. Bulma, who is 16 when the series starts, is therefore two years older than Gokū.

↑In the original manga, Gokū only knows the technique in theory and has never used it with anyone, merely teaching it to Goten and Trunks. Only in the movies and Dragon Ball GT did Gokū use the technique himself.

↑Dragon Ball Minus, page 9 and Jaco the Galactic Patrolman, page 216 confirmed to have been sent to Earth as age 3 in Dragon Ball Minus; Bulma was 5 at the time. Bulma, who is 16 when the series starts, is therefore two years older than Gokū.

↑Gokū's age was 14 at the start of the series, and a three year time-skip had occur ed between Fortuneteller Baba Saga and Tenshinhan Saga, thus making him 17 when he competed in the 22nd Tenkaichi Budōkai.